Maha Yana Sutra, Shoko Asahara, A U M U. S. A. Company, Limited, 1989, , ,..

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1 Maha Yana Sutra, Shoko Asahara, A U M U. S. A. Company, Limited, 1989, , ,.. Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction Responding to the Challenge, Ian Bellany, Dec 6, 2007, Political Science, 256 pages. There is a widely held belief in the imminent probability of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons of mass destruction being used by terrorists against civilian targets... Princeton Readings in Religion and Violence, Mark Juergensmeyer, Margo Kitts, Oct 10, 2011, Religion, 256 pages. This groundbreaking anthology provides the most comprehensive overview for understanding the fascinating relationship between religion and violence--historically, culturally... Shoko Asahara (麻åžÿ å½ æ ƒ, Asahara ShÅ kå?), born Chizuo Matsumoto (æ ¾æœ æ ºæ å «, Matsumoto Chizuo?) on March 2, 1955, is a founder of the Japanese new religious group Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway and several other crimes, for which he was sentenced to death in In June 2012, his execution was postponed due to further arrests of Aum Shinrikyo members.[1][dead link] Shoko Asahara was born into a large, poor family of tatami mat makers in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture.[2] Afflicted at birth with infantile glaucoma, he went blind at a young age in his left eye and is only partially sighted in his right. As a child, Asahara was enrolled in a school for the blind.[2] Asahara graduated in 1977 and turned to the study of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, which are traditional careers for the blind in Japan,[3] and married in In 1981, Asahara was convicted of practicing pharmacy without a license and selling unregulated drugs and was fined 200,000 yen.[4] In 1984, Shoko Asahara officially changed his name and applied for government registration of the group Aum Shinrikyo. The authorities were initially reluctant to accord it the status of a religious organization but eventually granted legal recognition after an appeal in After this, a monastic order was established and many of the lay followers decided to join. The doctrine of Aum Shinrikyo is based on the Bible and other texts. In 1992 Asahara published a landmark book,[clarification needed] and declared himself "Christ",[7] Japan's only fully enlightened master and identified with the "Lamb of God".[8] His purported mission was to take upon himself the sins of the world, and he claimed he could transfer to his followers spiritual power and ultimately take away their sins and bad works.[9] He also saw dark conspiracies everywhere promulgated by Jews, Freemasons, the Dutch, the British Royal Family, and rival Japanese religions.[10] He outlined a doomsday prophecy, which included a Third World War, and described a final conflict culminating in a nuclear "Armageddon", borrowing the term from the Book of Revelation 16:16.[11] On March 20, 1995, members of Aum attacked the Tokyo Subway System with the nerve gas sarin. Thirteen people died and thousands more suffered ill-effects. After finding sufficient evidence,

2 authorities accused Aum Shinrikyo of complicity in the attack, as well as in a number of smaller-scale incidents. Dozens of disciples were arrested, Aum's facilities were raided, and the court issued an order for Shoko Asahara's arrest. Asahara was discovered in a very small, completely isolated room of a building belonging to Aum. Shoko Asahara faced 27 murder counts in 13 separate indictments. The prosecution argued that Asahara "gave orders to attack the Tokyo Subway" in order to "overthrow the government and install himself in the position of Emperor of Japan". Several years later, the prosecution forwarded an additional theory that the attacks were ordered to "divert police attention" (from Aum). The prosecution also accused Asahara of masterminding the Matsumoto incident and the Sakamoto family murder. According to Asahara's defense team, a group of senior followers initiated the atrocities, keeping them a secret from Asahara. Following the events, disciples started to disseminate the teachings by way of direct coaching, something they would never do when Asahara was available for communication. A small group of those who failed to do so still formally exists.[citation needed] The trial was called the "trial of the century" by the Japanese media. Yoshihiro Yasuda, the most experienced attorney on Shoko Asahara's defence team, was arrested and charged with obstruction of the compulsory execution concerning a corporation in which he was an adviser. He therefore was unable to participate in his legal defence, though he was acquitted before the end of the trial. Human Rights Watch criticized Yasuda's isolation. Asahara was defended by court-appointed lawyers and asked not to be defended. During the trials, Asahara resigned from his position of Aum Shinrikyo representative to try to prevent dissolution of the group. The legal team appealed against the ruling on the grounds that Asahara was mentally unfit, and psychiatric examinations were undertaken. During the examination, conducted by a psychiatrist, Asahara never spoke. However, he communicated with the staff at his detention facility, which convinced the examiner that Asahara was maintaining his silence out of free will. Because his lawyers didn't submit the statement of reason for appeal, Tokyo High Court decided not to grant them leave to appeal on March 27, This decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of Japan on September 15, Two re-trial appeals were declined by the appellate court. *)Mahayana: The world of absolute freedom, happiness and joy which transcends the phenomenal world, the Astral world, and the Causal world. Originally, all souls who used to stay in this world had fallen down to this world of suffering being influenced by the energy called the three Gunas. It is the highest world within Nirvana. *)The six realms of desires: The world which exists below the Realm of Non-Form and the realm of Form ( the phenomenal realm). They are; heaven, the Asura realm, the human realm, the animal realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, and hell. This tells that the human realm exists at the fourth from the bottom of all worlds. *)The practice of six perfection: The system of practice so called "Six Paramita" in Mahayana Buddhism. Master Asahara uses "perfection" rather than "Paramita" as the precise translation of the original language. They are; "offering", "observation of precepts", "patience", "intenseive effort", "meditaion", and "wisdom". This also indicates the stage of merit. *)the origination of the twelve conditions: the main teaching in Agama Sutra which was taught by Buddha Sakyamuni. Based on his own experience of spiritual practice, Master Asahara had comprihended this law which no Buddhism scholar could understand was the law which indicates the process of enlightenment in Kundalini Yoga. In detail, please refer to his book "Beyond Life and Death". *)The matter concerning with building a center in Shizuoka: The plan to build the main head quarter of AUM Shinrikyo in Shizuoka Prefecture to greatly help the salvation plan of AUM Shinrikyo. *)the active precept: deeds which is recomended for spiritual practice. Here, Master Asahra speaks about the three offerings which was taught by Buddha Sakyamuni.

3 MR. Joyu, Ms. Yamamoto, Ms. Miyakozawa: Disciples of Master Asahara who is now Maitreya-Seitaishi, Kisagotami-Seigoshi, and Uppalavanna- Seigoshi. Each of them went into "the spiritual practice in the isolated room" from July. They also came to this intensive seminar which was held at Chichibu City in the Saitama Prefecture but kept practicing in the almost similar state to "the spiritual practice in the isolated room". Their holy names: The name which is given by Master Asahara to his disciples as the proof of attainment. Mr. Joyu, Ms. Yamamoto, and Ms. Miyakozawa were all admitted as the attainers on the tenth day of this seminar, and given the names; Maitreya, Brahmani, and Uppalavanna with the title of "Taishi" which indicates the attainment. *god: There are two meanings in "god". The one is the beings who lives in the heaven of the six realms of desires, and the other is the creator who lives in Mahayana. The god which often told in Christianity generally speaks about the gods who live in heaven. Here, he means the Great Lord Shiva who is the true self who lives in Mahayana, or the absolute god. There should be parts you can't understand just by reading this book. It is natural. But I believe that you will be able to actually experience by yourselves someday by your own spiritual practice. My disciples as well as the members of AUM all develop their spiritual stages by experienceing various things. Aum Shinrikyo (now known as Aleph) is a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. The name "Aum Shinrikyo" (ã ªã ムçœÿç æ ÅŒmu ShinrikyÅ ) derives from the Sanskrit syllable Aum, which represents the universe, followed by Shinrikyo written in kanji, roughly meaning "religion of Truth". In English, "Aum Shinrikyo" is usually translated as "Supreme Truth". In January 2000, the organization changed its name to Aleph in reference to the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and Phoenician alphabets. It changed its logo as well. Aleph's doctrine is based on the ancient Buddhist scriptures called Pali Canon. The collection comprises about 70 volumes, fully translated from Pali language into modern Japanese by the group's translation team. Along with the Pali Canon, Aleph uses other religious texts, including a number of Tibetan Buddhist sutras, some Hindu yogic sutras and Taoist scriptures. Some scholars of new religious movements view the Aleph's doctrine as a mixture of various traditions, arguing that a primary deity revered by Aleph followers is Shiva (a deity that symbolizes powers of destruction in Hindu tradition). In fact, the Aleph's Lord Shiva (also known as Samantabhadra, Kuntu-Zangpo, or Adi-Buddha) derives from Tibetan Vajrayana tradition and has no connection to the Hindu Shiva. There is controversy as to what role Christianity plays in Aleph's doctrine, since it was mentioned in some of Shoko Asahara's books. Many refuse to classify Aleph as Buddhist because scriptures from other traditions are used in conjunction with Buddhist sutras. Anti-cult activists and some scholars classify Aleph as a cult, mainly because of the violent history of its predecessor. In the view of Shoko Asahara, the group's founder, the doctrine encompasses all three major Buddhist schools: Theravada (aimed at personal enlightenment), Mahayana (the "great vehicle," aimed at helping others), and tantric Vajrayana (the "diamond vehicle," which involves secret initiations, secret mantras, and advanced esoteric meditations). In his book Initiation he compares the stages of enlightenment according to the Yoga Sutra by Patanjali with Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path, stating these two traditions speak about the same experiences in different words. Shoko Asahara has written a number of books, of which the best known are Beyond Life and Death, Mahayana-Sutra, and Initiation (translated into English). The books describe a process of attaining various stages of enlightenment and compare the descriptions provided in the ancient sutras with Asahara's own experiences. He also wrote commentaries to ancient sutras.

4 According to Aleph's classification, a follower can attain the following stages by way of his/her religious practice: Raja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Mahamudra (sometimes called Jnana Yoga), Mahayana Yoga, Astral Yoga, Causal Yoga and the ultimate stage, the Ultimate Realization. The overwhelming majority of such attainers are monks, though there are some lay Raja Yoga and Kundalini Yoga attainers. For a follower to be considered an attainer, specific conditions must be met before senior sangha members recognize them as such. For instance, Kundalini Yoga stage in their system requires reduction in oxygen consumption (which is measured by special sensors), changes in electromagnetic brain activity and reduction of heart rhythm (also measured). When the follower demonstrates such changes, it is recognized that s/he did in fact enter the samadhi state and thus deserves the title and permission to teach others. Each stage has its own requirements. Advancements in theoretical study do not give followers the right to teach others. Only meditation counts. Other beliefs include the yogic practice of shaktipat, which is the direct transmission of spiritual energy, or mingling of spiritual bodies on the subtle plane, between guru and student. This is a belief of guru-based yoga systems, where the guru has divine or semi-divine status. Aum also had a number of beliefs from the modern world, such as the belief the practicality of death-ray type weapons written about by Nikola Tesla (see Senate Hearing reference), and influence by Isaac Asimov's Foundation series of novels as a model for Aum, depicting as it does an elite group of spiritually evolved scientists forced to go underground during an age of barbarism so as to prepare themselves for the moment... when they will emerge to rebuild civilization" (Lifton, p258). The movement received an official status of a religion from the Japanese government in It had been founded by Shoko Asahara in his one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo's Shibuya district in In the following years the group grew quickly and thus became Japan's fastest-growing religious group. Despite the highly negative public image that followed the group since the time it decided to participate in municipal elections, the group attracted a considerable number of young intellectuals and was dubbed a "religion for the elite" by the press due to the abundance of graduates from Japan's top universities. Asahara engaged in lecture tours, during which he explained his views on religion and answered questions. Shoko Asahara traveled abroad on a number of occasions and met various well-known yogic and Buddhist religious teachers, such as the 14th Dalai Lama and Kalu Rimpoche, a patriarch of the Tibetan Kagyupa school. Aleph's activities aimed at the popularization of Buddhist texts were also noted by the governments of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Tibetan government-in-exile located in Dharamsala, India. In 1995, following a Tokyo subway sarin gas attack in which 12 commuters died and thousands were injured, Shoko Asahara and a number of senior Aum Shinrikyo officials were arrested and accused of planning the attack. The trial, called "the trial of the century" by the Japanese press, ruled Asahara guilty of masterminding the attack and sentenced him to death. The indictment is currently in the process of appeal at the High Court. Some senior members accused of participation, such as Masami Tsuchiya, also received death sentences. After the 1995 sarin gas incidents and following police searches and arrests, a number of Aum followers were accused in other crimes. The following people are believed to be murdered: two Aum Shinrikyo members, including Shuji Taguchi (reportedly for trying to leave the group), lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family members (including his wife, Satoko and their one-year-old child, Tatsuhiko). For more information, see Sakamoto family murder The reasons why a group of senior Aum members decided to commit atrocities and involvement of Asahara remain unclear to this very day. Prosecutors charged that Asahara had obtained inside information on police activities, specifically plans to conduct coordinated searches of all the Aum facilities in Japan. The subway attack, by this theory, was an attempt to distract the police investigation (previously police suggested the attack was an attempt by Shoko Asahara to become a king of Japan). The defense maintains that Asahara was not aware of events, pointing to his

5 deteriorating health condition. He left the post of organization's leader and maintains silence, refusing to speak even to lawyers and family members. Many believe the trials failed to establish truth behind the events. The group still continues to operate in Japan. It has announced a change in its doctrine: misreading of religious texts related to Vajrayana Buddhist doctrines that authorities claimed were "justifying murder" were removed. The group apologized to the victims of the sarin gas attack and established a special compensations fund.